I’m sure that by now you’ve seen Kia models being sold alongside Mazdas and Xpengs at certain Bermaz showrooms across Malaysia. It is because the corporate has hitherto held the distributorships for all three brands, and because it already has an intensive Mazda dealer network – and since some outlets usually are not capable of justify the additional outlay of constructing a separate Kia showroom – the three otherwise unrelated brands are forced to take a seat alongside one another under one roof.
In fact, Bermaz isn’t the one company doing this. Stellantis Malaysia operates shared showrooms for Peugeot and Leapmotor, although these two corporations are under the identical umbrella, in order that’s no surprise. Perhaps more contentious is Stellantis’ tie-up with Cycle & Carriage, with no less than one outlet selling each Peugeots and Mercedes-Benzes. That may’t be good for either brand’s positioning.
Well, Kia has now taken over the distribution of its own brand under the Kia Sales Malaysia (KSM) banner, and the national sales company’s managing director Emily Lek has made it clear that the mixed-brand model won’t be allowed under the brand new regime. That is despite her welcoming existing dealers to enroll and proceed selling and servicing Kia models.
“It is sort of clear in our agreement [with Bermaz] that Bermaz dealers shall be taken out [of our network]. At the identical time, we’re also rationalising our network; there are some dealers that do want to stick with us, and naturally we’ll be talking to them.
“Straight away, Bermaz has shared branding [at its dealers] and that’s something that we won’t allow, so it’s really about discussing with them on how they’re going to rebrand in the event that they want to take care of a Kia dealership,” she said.
Lek added that a principal-led model will enable the Kia brand to have full focus by way of sales and aftersales efforts. “Prefer it or not, as an [outside] distributor, I can herald multiple brands; I’ll give attention to whichever automotive that makes me profitable. The brand loyalty [for a distributor] may be very different, [compared to] a automotive company coming in by itself,” she said.
The clean break from Bermaz signifies that KSM isn’t following the arrangement made by sister company Hyundai Motor Malaysia (HMY), during which the previous distributor Sime Motors continues to be a serious Hyundai dealer.
Nevertheless, similar to HMY, KSM will proceed to assemble its CKD cars locally on the Inokom plant in Kulim, Kedah, through Kia Asia Pacific’s other subsidiary Kia Malaysia (KMSB). Either way, KSM might want to sort out its dealer network quick, as it’ll take over distributor duties starting January 1, 2026.
Trying to sell your automotive? Sell it with Carro.
This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
